Cotuit third-graders have uber-veggies

Third-graders proudly present eye-popping produce from their Cotuit school garden

COTUIT — What's up, Doc? Well, how about the giant carrot grown by students at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod?

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By Eric Williams and Jason Kolnos

capecodtimes.com

By Eric Williams and Jason Kolnos

Posted Oct. 22, 2011 at 2:00 AM
Updated Oct 22, 2011 at 9:05 AM

By Eric Williams and Jason Kolnos

Posted Oct. 22, 2011 at 2:00 AM
Updated Oct 22, 2011 at 9:05 AM

GIANT CARROT SLAW

The giant carrot will soon be shredded into a slaw by the Waldorf School Lunch Program's Chef Peet. Here's his recipe: 1 beet1 apple1 carrot1/2 cup shredded cabbage2 tabl...

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GIANT CARROT SLAW

The giant carrot will soon be shredded into a slaw by the Waldorf School Lunch Program's Chef Peet. Here's his recipe:

1 beet

1 apple

1 carrot

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds (optional)

Wash, peel and shred the carrot, apple, beet and cabbage, then mix them together. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice and honey. Pour that over the shredded produce and toss to coat. Add sunflower seeds, salt and pepper as desired.

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COTUIT — What's up, Doc? Well, how about the giant carrot grown by students at the Waldorf School of Cape Cod?

Held up to the sun, the 2.2-pound behemoth causes a brief, orangey eclipse. Lined up alongside proud third-grade farmers, the mega-carrot looks like an edible fence post.

But the ginormous girth of the uber-veggie isn't the most important thing to students and teachers at the school. To them, learning about the benefits of locally grown food is the most delicious lesson of all.

"We grew it so it just tastes better," said third-grader Jamie Goldbach of Plymouth.

"I don't even have to tell them, 'Do you know how much work is behind your food?'" said Waldorf teacher Kim Allsup. "They know it, in their muscles, in their bodies and their tiredness and going home covered with dirt."

The tremendous carrot was the result of a lot of hard work by students, who prepared the garden bed, planted the seeds and nursed things along, even during the summer, Allsup said.

"We watered and weeded," Allsup said. "And then when school started, pretty early on they started watching the carrot. They saw that this was the one that was the biggest."

Finally, a few days ago, the root-beast was pulled. It was met with some amazement.

"It's pretty much the biggest one I've ever seen, besides the one in 'Curious George,'" said David Corley, a third-grader from Plymouth, hoisting the carrot like a scepter. "I don't really like carrots or vegetables," Corley confessed. "I just like seeing the big thing. It's kinda sad to see this thing go into soup."

The carrot is actually headed for the shredder, said Chef Peet, aka Creighton Peet, mastermind of the school's lunch program,

"It's slated for a carrot and beet slaw which the kids are going to eat on Halloween Day," the chef reported. There was some thought of trying to preserve the 10.5-inch-long land-lunker, but produce taxidermists are hard to come by.

"If there's, like, some sort of magic potion I could put on this so it would stay good forever, I would lock it up in the fridge," Corley said. "And I'd keep it there for, like, the rest of my life."

Peet hopes the giant carrot is just the tip of the iceberg.

"Our dream is to increase the size of the garden so that we're able to produce 50 to 60 percent of what we need for the school," he said.